Vintage Watch Site

An online resource for LED, LCD and digital watches

Seiko Corporation

Although the Seiko name was adopted in 1924 with the introduction of its first wrist watch, the company was actually founded 43 years earlier by a clockmaker in Tokyo's Ginza District. Applauded for its accuracy and craftsmanship, the Seiko watch became a resounding success and by 1938, demand for the timepieces pushed yearly production to well over one million watches. Dedicated to technology advancement and precise manufacture, the Seiko Company has repeatedly staked its reputation on performance, acting as the Official Timer of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Sapporo, Barcelona, Lillihammer and Nagano. It has also been the Official Timekeeper in four World Cup Soccer championships.

Seiko's many design innovations include the world's first quartz watch, the world's first LCD quartz watch with six digit display, and the world's first intelligent analog quartz watch with alarm and timer function. In 1992, with the introduction of the Kinetic design, once again Seiko rewrote the state of the art. The Seiko Kinetic collection is a line of quartz watches that are electrically charged by movement. The Kinetic Auto Relay goes into suspended animation when unworn for three days, thus conserving energy. With a few shakes of the wearer's wrist, it wakes up and resets itself to the exact time.

Production of the first self-winding wrist watch made in Japan begins. Replica exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum from 1999.

1958

Introduction of quartz clocks for broadcasting use.

1959

Introduction of transistorised table clocks.

1963

Development of portable quartz chronometer.

1964

SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.

1968

Establishment of subsidiary in Hong Kong.

1969

Introduction of Seiko Astron, world's first quartz watch (35SQ). Seiko was simultaneously taking a fresh look at quartz and so it was the Japanese company who unveiled the world's first quartz wristwatch - the 35SQ Astron Watch - in Tokyo on 25 December 1969. It was expensive, costing 450,000 yen ($1,250 at the 1969 exchange rate). It had a plain face, was chunky (unlike the slimline Swiss mechanical watches) and also suffered so many technical difficulties that Seiko ended up recalling it after only producing just 100 watches.

1970

Establishment of Seiko Time Corporation in USA.

1971

Establishment of Seiko Time (U.K.) Ltd.

Seiko Time Corporation in the USA opens its first office in Canada.

1972

Introduction of the world's first ladies quartz watch.

Establishment of Seiko Time GmbH in the former Federal Republic of Germany.

SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Sapporo Winter Olympic Games in Japan.